Israel looks to pass budget in major test for new government
(Worthy News) – Israeli lawmakers are set to begin marathon voting on Wednesday to try and pass the first national budget in three years, a major test for the fractious coalition government that was sworn in earlier this year after four divisive elections.
Failure to pass the budget by November 14 would bring down the government and trigger yet another election, giving former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his best opportunity to swiftly return to power.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Knesset plenum (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
The coalition includes eight parties from across the political spectrum and has a razor-thin margin of 61 seats in the 120-member assembly. If Netanyahu and his allies can peel away just one defector the budget could fail to pass, but most expect it will, if only because the coalition is firmly united against him. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]